Monday 30 November 2009

MATCH REPORT : BLUE 28th November

BLUE 4 - 5 BONALY YELLOW

Reporter Angus picks up the story as Blues take on the mighty Bonaly Yellows...

Bonaly started the game well with Joe being forced to make a great save in the first minute. Unfortunately he couldn’t stop the follow up and Bonaly opened the scoring. 0-1 Bonaly.


Stout defending by Roddy and then Murdo soaked up the early pressure but the opposition were playing good football and a well struck shot by the Bonaly striker lead to another goal.  0-2 Bonaly.

Blues responded with Alex, Sam and Jude working well together in midfield. Loan striker Joseph roamed and came back to add extra support and after some excellent passing it was Jude who fired a shot at the Bonaly goal which rebounded off the cross bar. Jude followed up with a strong header but the Bonaly keeper made the save. Shortly afterwards, Alex took the ball and drove up the left wing, striking the ball hard into the back of the Bonaly net.  1-2 Bonaly.


(Tremendous skills from Alex, scorer of the first BLUE goal!)

 Blues were back in the game and it was just a question of time before the next goal. Joseph and Sam linked up and made the key pass to Alex who struck the ball up into the top right corner of the Bonaly net!  2-2


(Action in the Bonaly box!)


Bonaly pressed forward but Roddy and Robert make the important tackles to hold them back. Then, the ball was moved from keeper Joe, with quick crisp passing from defence to attack before Hamish lashed the ball into the net. 3-2  BLUE.


(Hamsh puts the BLUES into the lead!)



(Sam was outstanding in the first half...and even better in the second!)


At the start of the second half, Alex moved in goal and all the running of the first half seemed to take its toll on the Blues. Bonaly had their best passage of play and despite some good tackling by the Blues, managed to score 3 times to take a commanding lead. 3-5 Bonaly.



(Robert - busy at the start of the 2nd half!)


Blues kept their composure with Murdo moving up to midfield and putting pressure on the Bonaly team but they proved difficult to break down. At that point, Hamish managed to break free down the right and passed to Jude who had moved inside for the cross and he fired the ball into the net.  4-5 Bonaly.


(Great pass from Murdo sets up Jude...)


(..Jude slots home the fourth!)


Blues continued to push hard for the equaliser but despite an onslaught on the Bonaly goal, ran out of time.  Final score 4-5 Bonaly.  Great match.


(BLUES looks for an equaliser!)


There was some great football played by the Blues in this match and with a bit more luck, could easily have won the game. Well played everyone.


(Back : Joseph B, Murdo, Robert, Alex, Roddy ; Front : Joe SH, Hamish, Jude, Sam)
What a come back!  Ref has seen enough and blows for half time.

MATCH REPORT : RED 28th November

ST PETERS 2 - 3 RED

The RED team had to make some late team changes ahead of the visit to the mighty St Peters.  With Danny being unwell poor Sasha had to gobble his breakfast and make an early start for the RED team instead of helping the YELLOWS.  Making his debut for the RED team was Keir and returning from a week away was Jack (who decided to take a turn in goals for a half).  At the back we had our fantastic Ollie and Hector combination, Kjartan, Struan and Eyvindur in midfield and Ali The Striker looking like he meant business up front.  Keir and Sasha started the game on the bench but were soon involved.

The RED team have started every single game poorly this year.  What they need to do is start well.  The coaches remind the teams of their positions, don't pass across goal, midfield help the defence, get the ball wide, get the ball going forward, strikers help the midfield.  Everyone got that?  Yes!  Everyone going to start well, start as soon as whistle goes?  Yes!  Ok, lets go play...

...St Peters hit the post in the first minute and then spent the next 5 minutes camped in the RED box.

(Ollie - busy early in the match!)

Ollie, Hector, Kjartan, Eyvindur and Jack all had to look busy.  Struan looked lonely standing out wide looking for the ball.  Ali?  He was coming nice and deep to get the ball but RED team just couldn't get the ball away.  The RED coaches could hardly look (mostly because the sun was very low and right into their eyes, local knowledge meant home crowd took their positions on the other side).

After what seemed an hour of pressure RED got the ball wide to Struan who took the ball up field and fired in a great cross.  Kjartan, supporting wonderfully from midfield, connected and force the StP goalie to make a good save.  Kjartan was working extremely hard in the middle of the field, winning some great tackles in tricky conditions.

(Struan and Kjartan, linking up well in midfield!)

StP immediately returned to their attacking ways but a great break from RED saw Kjartan and Eyvindur combine to get the ball to Ali - who was coming deep to help the midfield.  A lightening break from Ali forced the StP keeper to make another great save.  A minute later a fantastic back heel from Ali set up Eyvindur who fired just wide.  Great play from the REDs who are beginning to mount some pressure on the StP goal.  Just when the coaches are feeling happier StP break and despite Hector and Ollie making fantastic blocks the supporting StP midfielder fires the ball past a helpless Jack. 1-0 StP.

This brought on another few minutes of pressure.  Shot after shot was being fired at the RED goal. One of them was hit straight at the RED defence and hit an over worked Ollie on the hand. "Self defence?" the crowd thought but after a quick query from the referee ("Did that hit your hand Ollie?", "Yes on the side here where it is all muddy...") a penalty was awarded. "Harsh..." said the local expert patrolling the away end. Jack looked cool on the line though, we wondered if this cool confidence would put the StP striker off? It did - the penalty was fired just wide!!! Phew.

Time for changes.  Sasha and Keir were introduced and some fine play from our debutant set up Ali for another break - but the StP keeper makes another fine save.  Sasha was looking great in midfield again with excellent tracking back to help the defence and some great passing.  Kjartan and Struan were linking well in midfield, a nice turn and run from Struan resulted in a great shot hitting the base of the post.  "Ooooh" shouted the away end, but the ball fell kindly to Ali who tucked the ball away very nicely.  Great finish!  1-1.


What happened next is known in the trade as a 'purple patch'.  RED team swarmed forward at every opportunity with StP trying to do the same thing.  Another break from Struan saw another shot hit the post, StP break forward but Hector snuffs out the danger.  A quick series of passes sets Ali free again - this time he fires high into the net!  1-2 RED.

Wow.

One minute later the same trick - great midfield play from Keir and Kjartan sets up Ali through the middle.  Shot, goal, 1-3 RED.  Hat-trick hero!

(Ali, hat-trick hero scores his third goal!)

Double wow.

Half time arrives and the coach sits down, while the RED team all chatter about what a great game it is.  In the last few minutes of the first half they made it look so easy.  Everyone was comfortable on the ball, Jack was saving anything that got through to him, Ollie and Hector were magnificent, Sasha and Keir were full of energy and were passing really well.  Eyvindur was on top form and was always looking dangerous near the StP box.  Struan and Kjartan were playing really, really well, linking well in midfield and playing some nice short passes around the StP defence.  Ali?  Three goals in one half?  Sounds like a hero to me!  Only one thing left to do - put him in goals!

Second half started with Ali in goals, Ollie and Sasha in defence, Jack, Kjaratan and Eyvindur in midfield and Struan up front.  Keir, who had an outstanding first half, and Hector, magnificent in defence and midfield in the first half, started on the bench.


(Keir had a fine debut for the REDs)

RED team made a fantastic start to the second half with lots of early pressure.  A great midfield break from Jack resulted in the shot that flew just by the StP goals.  StP are, however, a fantastic team.  In defence they have some guy called Callum, who looks like he might be the best centre back this country has ever produced.  He looks elegant on the ball, knows how to defend and isn't scared to knock his best pal Struan into next week when he had the cheek to try to get past him!  RED coach wasn't pleased with this assault but the local expert (still patrolling the away end) muttered something about "...that's my boy..." in a slightly scary way.  With Callum's excellent passing from defence and some great midfield play StP look like a great team.

(Callum and Struan, still friends!!!???)

Great play in defence from Ollie, who was bringing the ball out of defence wonderfully, set up Kjartan, who passed to Jack.  Jack found Eyvindur and a cracking move ended with a great save from the StP goalkeeper.  Great play RED team, unlucky Eyvindur.

Soon the pressure began to mount again.  Sasha had to clear the ball from the line, Ollie was making some outstanding tackles, Eyvindur was tracking back to help out and made some great clearances.  Keir was back by now to help out a tired looking team and really made his mark with some great running to help out in attack - and then back to help in defence!  Hector was busy, busy, busy.  Always looking for danger and quick to get the ball out wide.

Jack was having a fine game in midfield, and really giving StP best player something to think about.  He was quick to stop any danger and then able to break forward, at speed, and deliver some great crosses.  At the end of one of these crosses Struan fired in a great shot which the StP goalkeeper did well to save.

(Jack - excellent in midfield!)

With the game nearing the end StP mounted a last charge.  The RED defence was holding - only just - but with Ali in outstanding form things were looking okay.  Suddenly a break from StP resulted in a stramash in the box - penalty StP!  "Uh-oh..." thought the RED coaches looking at imaginary watches.  One excellent penalty later it was game on! 2-3 RED.

The last few seconds were minutes.  StP raged forward now and Ali had to make a series of wonderful saves.  Ollie and Hector were outstanding, StP were a little unlucky to see the ball hit the top of the bar after a great shot from outside the area.  As injury time turned into extra time and extra time turned into a replay the ref finally remembered where his whistle was and blew for full time.  2-3 REDs and the away crowd goes wild!


(Celebrations in the away end!)

Phew!

(Teams shake hands at end of match)

What a magnificent performance from the RED team against a brilliant StP side!  Well played to everyone.



(Back row : Ollie, Jack, Struan, Ali, Eyvindur, Kjartan ; Front : Keir, Hector, Sasha)

Sunday 29 November 2009

TRAINING REPORT : YELLOW 28th November

A full fixture list at the weekend meant that the Yellow team were training at the Meadows – we need more teams to play against! Special guest coach this week was Paul (Alex’s H Dad) who kindly volunteered to take training for the week.



(Coach Paul with the squad!)


Must have been cosy in the Yellow Team hotel on Friday night because only Owen, Matthew and Valdi managed to get out of bed on time! In the end the other sleepy heads managed to get there – Joseph B, Joe R, Aiden, Alex A and Amir – no slippers or pyjamas on view. Buff™ of the week prize to Valdi. Very nice!


(Valdi and his excellent Buff!)


After a quick warm up the Yellow team were given a number of drills to get them concentrating on moving into space and dribbling with the ball. The drills are really important as it gives the players things to think about during the exciting bit – the game! The second half of the training session involved a great mini-match.


(Yellow squad demonstrate their dribbling skills!)

Owen, Valdi and Alex A were brilliant during the mini-match. They obviously picked up lots during the training drills and moved well, worked well, passed brilliantly and encouraged the others. Well played guys – players of the week!




(Alex A - one of the player of the week winners!)


Matthew (who looked very cold) was appointed captain and played well, especially in the second half. Joseph B was full of energy and enthusiasm, was very vocal and communicates really well with those around him.



(Great energy, enthusiasm and communcations from Joseph B!)


Joe R had a quiet week, but was still outstanding in defence and passing is improving every week. Aiden was here…there…and everywhere! Such energy and commitment has been noted. Looks comfortable with the ball and just needs to pass a tiny bit quicker. He is improving every week - soon he will be a top quality midfielder! Amir was his usual brilliant best in defence with some shuddering tackles that made the Coach take cover! An excellent mini-match finished with a…well, the Coach lost count of the number of great goals scored!



(What strange three legged creature is this?  A JoeValdiseph Monster!)


A couple of not very nice words were exchanged during an extremely competitive mini-match. A little reminder to everyone that red cards will be used if that is ever repeated!

Thursday 26 November 2009

FIXTURES : Saturday 28th November 2009

BLUE at home to Bonaly Yellow, kick off 9:30am at Meadows.

RED away to St Peter's, kick off 9:30am at Liberton.

YELLOW home for training and mini-matches.

Sunday 22 November 2009

MATCH REPORT : BLUE 21st November

ST PETERS 5 - 2 BLUE

Wet conditions lead to most games being cancelled but the game at St Peters went ahead as planned. A late call off meant some adjustments to the team but confidence was high having already beaten St Peters a few weeks earlier.





(Joseph Bruneteaux breaks forward!)

The game started well with an early goal for the Blues. Great play between Joseph, Jude and Hamish linking together set up Alex who fired the ball into the back of the St Peters net (1-0). The Blues were passing well and looking comfortable on the ball. A St Peters counter attack put Coll under pressure but he made a solid save and Murdo and Robert cleared the danger. The Blues then attacked again with Alex, running down the left wing before he hit a powerful shot into the St Peter goal (2-0).



(Joseph Bruneteaux is outnumbered in midfield!)

At this point, Blues made the first set of substitutions which lead to some confusion and St Peters took full advantage and scored (2-1). St Peters continued to pile forward forcing Roddy and Joe to make some great tackles to keep them at bay. Finally, after a good passing movement, St Peters levelled the score (2-2).




(Hamish and Joseph trying to stem the tide!)


(Hamish offers support to another BLUE attack!)


(BLUE coaches offer half time advice!)

In the second half there were a number of good individual moves but the Blues lost some of their shape and St Peters managed to score a couple of quick goals (2-4). Hamish and Joseph both had good runs but St Peters continued to make some excellent tackles. Alex pushed down the left before hitting the post and Coll almost scored from the rebound but the St Peters keeper made an excellent save. In the closing seconds St Peters managed to score again after a good move from their midfield (final score 5-2).



(Looks like an earthquake!)


(Great sporting behaviour at the end!)

A disappointing final result but there were plenty of good skills from the Blues team which we can build on in the weeks ahead.


(Mixed emotions from the BLUE team!)
(Back row : Joe SH, Joseph Bruneteaux, Coll, Murdo, Alex, Jude, Robert - Front : Hamish, Roddy)

Wednesday 18 November 2009

FIXTURES : Saturday 21st November...

BLUE away to St Peter's, match being played at Liberton, kick off 9:30am, meet at 8:45am outside Victor Hugo's.

RED away to South Morningside City, match postponed.

YELLOW training postponed.

Sunday 15 November 2009

MATCH REPORT : YELLOW 14th November

YELLOW 1 - 8 SOUTH MORNINGSIDE UNITED

The third half (eh?) of the big derby weekend saw the Yellow team take on the might South Morningside United.  Keith takes up the story...

The Yellow team were a bit stretched on Saturday and had only 5 players at the start (Joseph, Joe, Owen, Keir and Matthew).  They were joined by Aiden just at kick-off and supplemented by Christopher from South Morningside. Keir started in goal and gamely offered to loan his strip to Christopher to avoid confusion.


(Aiden and Valdi get to work!)

SM had a strong team and the Yellows struggled to clear their lines in early exchanges. Aiden and Owen playing up front managed to go off on a few runs up front to relieve the pressure but there was a lot of defending to be done. SM broke the deadlock after 5 minutes with a strong strike. Valdi arrived soon after and took over in goal for a spell (Christopher returning to the SM ranks).



(Joseph organises the defence as Valdi chases another great pass!)

SM scored another goal midway through the half but Sciennes held out thereafter with Joe taking over in goal and some stalwart defending from Matthew, Joseph and Valdi.



(Aiden and his customised strip!)

The players started to tire in the second half. SM were using their substitutes and had some strong players - the Yellows had to play throughout without a break.



(Joe Ros makes wonder save, deflecting ball onto far post!)
(ps is that a Fiorentina strip?  I'm not keen on them...)

SM raced away early in the second half to a 5-0 lead before some nice passing in midfield between Aiden and Keir allowed Owen to break through and score with a strong drive high to the keeper's right. Despite more brave defending by Joseph, Joe, Matthew and Keir, SM stopped any chance of a Sciennes recovery by scoring 2 quick goals and a final goal, which went in and through the side netting, controversially given by the referee.


(Matthew defends against the entire SM team, Valdi looks worried!)


(Midfield battle as SM break forward!)


(Superb defending!  Valdi and Aiden ensure there is no danger as Matthew clears the ball)


(Valdi makes a great clearance!)

An 8-1 defeat against a strong SM team, but the Yellow team played fantastically well in difficult circumstances.  Well played Yellows!

MATCH REPORT : RED 14th November

RED 1 - 1 SOUTH MORNINGSIDE ROVERS

The second half of the huge derby weekend saw RED team take on the mighty South Morningside Rovers at the Meadows.  The pitch was heavy after a sprinkle of rain and with leaves making the pitch trickier the RED coaches worried that the skillful RED team might find the conditions tricky.

The RED team started with Ali in goals, Ollie and Hector in defence, Danny, Kjartan and Struan in midfield, Eyvindur as the striker.  Sasha started the game as sub, but would have a big say in the match!  (Alex A couldn't make it.)



(Free kick?  Struan in midfield while Ollie and Hector patrol the defence magnificently!)

South Morningside started the game really well, with RED team taking a bit of time to settle. Defensively though, Ollie and Hector looks superb, covering for each other and keeping the danger away from Ali. Suddenly things clicked in midfield with Kjartan nd Struan linking well and Danny making some powerful runs to support Eyvindur. Some brilliant crosses from Danny provided a couple of great chances to score but the ball couldn't be forced home.



(Great crossing from Danny)

Following a great period of play in midfield from Kjartan, Struan and Danny Sciennes forced a corner.  This was taken quickly by Kjartan, finding Struan with a nice short pass.  Struan took the ball inside and fired in a dangerous cross cum shot that was well blocked by the South Morningside defence.  The ball spun to the edge of the box where Sasha, just on to give Eyvindur a rest, took one touch and smashed the ball into the net.  A fantastic finish from a fantastic midfield player.  1-0 RED!


(Sasha - our goal hero - making his mark in midfield!)

It didn't take long for SM to bounce back.  The RED team did well to cope with a huge amount of SM pressure, but our defensive players were playing magnificently well - Ollie, Hector and Sasha all making fantastic clearing tackles and our superb keeper Ali was on top, top form.


(Great save from ATG - Ali The Goalie!  Hector and Danny help out just in case.)

In midfield Danny, Struan and Kjartan were playing magnificently well.  Danny was coming inside to help Kjartan and Struan stayed wide and was starting to cause SM some problems with some tricky wing play.  Eyvindur was being used in just about every position on the pitch (including goalkeeper later) and was playing really well.  It was a fantastic game with play swinging from end to end.  Some of the Red Coaches were getting very excited!


(Struan takes the ball for a run out wide!)

In the second half Eyvindur had a go in goals for a while and looked like he really enjoyed himself.  SM were shooting from everywhere but Eyvindur made some great saves.  Eventually a fantastic run from SM 'Archie' - who reminded me of that other Archie - broke through a packed Red defence and scored. 1-1. 

By now Reds were under lots of pressure and finding it difficult to get the ball through midfield to Ali The Striker (ATG).

Danny took over in goals, whoch allowed Eyvindur to go wide right and try to get those dangerous runs going again.  Ali moved to midfield alongside Kjartan and Struan took over up front - but told to drop deep to help midfield.  It took a few minutes for the Red team to understand their new positions and some more SM pressure followed.  However with DTG in magnificent form behind a rotating defence of Hector, Ollie and Sasha.  The Red team would not give in!


(Kjartan and DTG - Danny The Goalie - concentrate on defending a SM corner!)

Suddenly the Red team clicked!  Kjartan was inspirational in midfield, winning tackles and getting the ball out wide.  Ollie and Hector was bringing the ball out of defence really well - Red coaches like this total football thing!  Sasha was keeping things really neat in midfield - playing the game of his life.  Ali playing in midfield was seeing more of the ball and linking play with Struan really well.  Eyvindur looked really comfortable attacking from the right.

(Kjartan battles in midfield and Sasha offers support!)

Now it was time for the Red team to dominate.  Eyvindur was brilliant wide on the right and was causing the SM defence some real problems.  On one fantastic run he crossed the ball into the box and another epic stramash took place but SM defence scrambled the ball away for a corner.

It was all Reds now but SM looked dangerous on the break.  The Red defence was simply brilliant though and Danny was beginning to look cold.  In fact, he started playing as a defender for a while which allowed Hector and Sasha to really push forward and help the midfield!  The whole team were working so hard but could they get the breakthrough their play deserved?
(Great play from Eyvindur late in the game!)

Could we have a winner?  Would either defence crack?  Could SM break RED hearts again?  Could RED record a victory?


(SM were always dangerous on the break, Struan tracks back to help.)

A great move with only a couple of minutes to go very nearly brough a winner.  Ali, Kjartan and Sasha played the ball through midfield to Struan, who played the ball back to Kjartan.  A first time pass from Kjartan back to Struan gave Struan a sight of goal.  One touch, shot...oh, hit the bar.  The Red supporters were by now screaming encouragement.

(Struan shoots for glory, Kjartan thinks it is in...but it hits the bar!)

The game finishes with a flurry of goalmouth activity - and each end.  First Kjartan plays Struan in again but this time the SM goalie makes a magnificent save hit to his left.  The ball breaks forward and the SM midfield sense the last chance is coming.  A series of fantastic blocks in defence prevent a shot at goal but suddenly the ball spins to the SM striker - uh oh - who shoots into the side netting - phew!

A fantastic performance from the whole team - lots of substitutions required as we were working so hard and only had one sub.  It was great, great game!